Sapphire Scales
by Raberba girl
Summary: sapphire means blue
1. The Death Sentence

Sapphire Scales: A Dragon Love Story

A Rurouni Kenshin fanfic by Raberba girl

Summary: Responsible for many slayings, Battousai is finally caught, sentenced to death, and offered to a dragon. Out of guilt, he faces his fate bravely - except that the dragon doesn't seem to want to eat him, and he finds himself...feeling sorry for her? KK

A/N: Kenshin doesn't really have a split personality in this fic, so there won't be much of a distinction between him and Battousai.

Also, the fic might have been able to get away with a PG rating, but I upped it just to be safe.

**Chapter 1 - The Death Sentence**

He deserved this. The pain could not possibly be worse than what he had been suffering in his soul, so he resolved to make no resistance when the dragon finally came for him.

Himura Kenshin sighed and slid awkwardly down the wooden pole his wrists were tied to so that he could sit on the ground. He had been standing for hours. Apparently the dragon was either asleep or away, since he had not heard a sound from its lair all this time. The cave's rocky mouth yawned before him, growing blacker and blacker as twilight began to fall. Briefly, he considered shifting so that he would no longer have to look at that gateway to mysterious horrors...but no. He would rather watch anything that might emerge from it than be caught from behind.

An involuntary shiver ran down his spine. Of all things, to be eaten by a dragon... A warrior's fate should be to live and grow ever stronger, or to die gloriously in battle. Capture was shameful, and this sort of passive death sentence was even worse, but he had not been able to bring himself to honorable suicide. "Not like you're a true warrior anyway," he murmured bitterly to himself. "Simply a murderer lurking in the shadows. What a wonderful way to put your skills to use. Shishou would be so proud."

Kenshin closed his eyes, remembering the violent parting with his master and the things that had happened since then. Killing after killing, staining his hands crimson over and over again... He knew it was in a good cause, that it was for justice and freedom. Yet somehow along the way he had lost sight of that...which was probably even why he had been caught. Spiraling into depression, gone sluggish from guilt and shame, no wonder they had been able to overpower him in the end.

"Fat lot of help you are," he told the sword at his waist. It was almost a joke, the way they had taken away his weapons and replaced them only with a sakabatô. A 'sporting chance,' they had jeered. Theoretically he would be able to earn back his life and freedom if he was able to somehow kill the dragon with a backwards sword, since the success of such an impossible feat would be an indication of divine favor. Kenshin knew, however, that he would not even attempt to use the reversed-blade sword. After taking so many lives, he felt disgusted with the thought of trying to fight for his own.

His attention was abruptly snapped out of his own thoughts when he heard a rush of air overhead. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a dark shape swooping through the dimming sky, far too big to be a bird. His heart began to pound. He craned his head to follow the creature, but it had passed out of view and he could not find it again.

Trying to get back to his feet, Kenshin realized with a flash of horrified annoyance that he was stuck. The rope binding his wrists had snagged on the splintery wood. Caught in a crouch, he wrenched at the ropes until he was able to get his feet back under him, but when he tried to sit down again, he was prevented by the sakabatô, the tip of which was now braced against the ground. Cursing, Kenshin managed, with much difficulty, to work his foot out enough to kick the sword free, and finally plopped back down with a grunt. So it seemed like he would be facing death in an undignified huddle. Wonderful. He would have been better off standing - it's not like he would be worrying about sore legs in a little while, anyway.

A noise made him freeze. Apparently, the dragon had landed during his struggles and was now directly behind him. He could sense its enormous presence, feel the heat radiating off it, hear its low mumblings almost right over his head. The air suddenly felt hot and hard to breathe. He tried looking around for it, but all he could see were scales, deep blue in color.

Shuddering, he yanked his gaze back to the cave mouth, breathing hard. He had not expected to be this frightened. He never had been before - perhaps because he had never had to sit waiting calmly to be overtaken by what he already knew was coming. This time, death was literally breathing down his neck, and he was not supposed to fight back.

A gigantic reptilian head lowered down into his view, staring at him with hot sapphire eyes. He stiffened, unaware that he was pressed back as hard as he could against the wooden pole, staring back in terrified fascination. The head moved closer. He quickly shut his eyes and turned his head away, biting down hard to keep a whimper from escaping. _'Just get it over with!'_ he thought, and cringed when he felt contact.

The huge nose was sniffing at him, ruffling his hair wildly and speckling his face with drops of hot liquid. This time he could not hold back a strangled little cry as he imagined those huge jaws opening to crunch him up; so close, so close. The dragon's nose was soft and moist, like a dog's or a cat's. He thought suddenly that it would be a good place to drive a sword into, if one wanted to cause some damage. _'Shut UP, Himura,'_ he told himself fiercely.

There was a sudden rush of almost unbearable heat as the dragon sighed, its scalding breath washing over him. Kenshin made another stupid little strangled noise, this time of pain. Then there was a sudden cold emptiness as the head moved away. Kenshin braced himself for whatever was coming next, wondering idly why the dragon hadn't just chomped down on him right there, but that was stupid, who knows how a dragon thinks, who cares, just shut up and stop making your last thoughts so idiotic!

The ground shook with enormous footsteps...and it took Kenshin a minute to realize that the dragon was moving away. His eyes popped open in surprise, and he found that the creature was slowly entering the cave. Without supper? Perhaps it had already had supper...in which case he was probably going to be tomorrow's breakfast instead, if dragons even ate as often as humans did. Which meant that he was going to be tied up outside all night, if not longer.

"Hey!" he shouted. "Wait a minute!"

The dragon stopped. Then it arced around its long neck and stared at him. He gulped, wondering why he had been so stupid as to grab its attention again when it had clearly been about to move on. Still, he was not sure how much more of this he could stand, and it would take him a long time and some painful effort to work himself free. "You're just going to _leave_ me here?"

The dragon growled. Kenshin swallowed, then steeled himself and shouted again. It made him feel a little more braver than merely talking did. "My arms hurt. This pole has been sticking into my spine for hours. However you plan to eat me, couldn't you at _least_ have the decency to set me loose first? I promise I won't run away."

The dragon's eyes narrowed, and it suddenly roared at him. Kenshin sucked in a breath and jerked his face aside, unable to look at the menacing creature he had just angered. _'Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid...!'_

Its heavy footsteps approached again, and it took all his willpower not to move or make a sound, even though he felt like a rabbit in an eagle's grasp. At least this way he would not have to wait until morning, the creature would put him out of his misery quickly-

He heard the huge jaws snap shut and he ducked instinctively, though he wondered why the sound had come booming down from over his head, rather than on it. Did the dragon have bad aim, or was it not able to see well in the dark? How odd.

_'How odd? _How odd?_ Why are you curious about something stupid like that at a time like this?'_ He gasped as the pole was suddenly wrenched upwards. The lower end of it knocked painfully into his legs and sent him lurching forward almost onto his face. The dragon had...closed its teeth around the pole, so that it could pull the thing out of the ground. The pole thunked down some distance away, and Kenshin cracked his eyes open. So the dragon had released him after all...

His heart jumped straight into his throat when he felt the dragon's foreleg on him, pushing him facedown to the ground. Frantically he turned his head, but all he could see were the blue scales again, the color now difficult to make out in the quickly fading light. Kenshin bit his tongue holding back another cry as pain shot through his arms. The dragon's claws had gouged his wrists, but he suddenly found himself free. Groaning, he lay there unmoving as his arms screamed pain at him, having been fastened uncomfortably behind him for hours.

When the circulation finally returned, he laboriously pulled himself back up, sitting there shakily as he stared at his bleeding arms. A dragon's claws were not meant for such delicate work, after all; he found he held no grudge for the injuries. _'Free,'_ he thought dazedly. _'For a little while, at least.'_ Kenshin looked up at the creature, who sat regarding him warily. After a while he tried to speak, but his throat was too dry, so he had to swallow several times before he was able to. "Th...Thank you."

The dragon's eyes widened, and it made a croaking noise. A little puff of smoke came drifting out of its mouth.

Kenshin winced, but then took a deep breath and pushed himself to his feet. "Thank you," he said again, more strongly. "Such kindness was not...expected." He also had not expected the dragon to understand human speech. How much else was there he did not know?

At this, the dragon suddenly slammed its tail hard on the ground, just in front of Kenshin. He leaped back out of the way, then watched in bewilderment as the dragon turned almost angrily and stalked back into its cave. Kenshin stood staring after it, open-mouthed.

The dragon had just..._left_ him out here? Didn't it think he was going to escape?

Did it..._care_ if he escaped?

Kenshin thought for a while, pressing one hand to the worst of the cuts. The dragon could understand human speech. It seemed to have no interest in eating him, at least for now. It had seemed...upset. Not the thoughtless anger of an animal, but the more complex emotion of a person.

It suddenly occurred to Kenshin that the dragon, while feared for its strength and hated for its destructive capability, had never actually been known to kill a human. True, it frequently carried off livestock, and there was always the wild stories about its murderous exploits and the hundreds of people it had slaughtered (much like the stories told about Hitokiri Battousai, ironically). Yet the stories always tended to be fanciful and often alcohol-fueled tales of ridiculously transparent exaggeration. As far as authentic-sounding accounts, Kenshin could think of none. The dragon probably had less human blood on its hands (claws...) than _he_ did.

Kenshin sighed. "I think I'm insane," he muttered. Then he straightened his shoulders and walked into the cave.

_To be continued..._

Author's Notes: I love dragons. I also love Rurouni Kenshin. After reading one great RK dragon fic that was never finished (Colleen's _The Dragon and the Maiden_) and another that was rather disappointing, I decided to write one of my own. I didn't think that a fic where Kaoru was the dragon would be very popular, but to my astonishment and pleasure, I was proved wrong. Thank you so much, guys!


	2. The Dragon

_**Sapphire Scales**_**, a Rurouni Kenshin fanfic by Raberba girl**

**Chapter 2 - The Dragon**

She didn't feel good. That probably was not the sheep's fault... It had tasted normal, so she did not think anyone had poisoned its fleece or anything, but she had not been able to manage the second one. After watching it bleating pitifully for a while, she had finally opened her claws and let it go, watching it scramble off into the woods. Though the sight had not done much for her stomach, it had cheered her up a tiny bit. It was nice to see a creature escaping a miserable fate, though she did find herself envying its agility. Her own body was so massive that the only time she did not feel like a fat, clumsy monstrosity was when she was in the air.

At the thought, she closed her eyes and thought of flying. It was the only thing she liked about her life now, the only thing that did not drive her farther and farther into this maddening darkness of the heart. The bleakness of everything felt like a weight, pressing down on her and stifling her. If her spirit was a flame, she had been feeling it dwindle lower and lower over the years, so that now it was practically only an ember. Everything just seemed so hopeless...

For a while her spirits lifted a little by the flight back home, and she had even forgotten her queasy stomach - but then finding that red-haired man staked in front of her home sent her guts churning again, this time with panic and anger. Was he supposed to be bait, meant as a distraction so that she would not notice the hunters leaping out at her? In that case, why a man? Why not a beautiful maiden fainting with terror, as was the usual custom? Perhaps he was himself one of the hunters, falsely bound and ready to plunge a blade into her when she was lured close.

Yet she sensed no other humans nearby, and the scent of his fear was untainted with any sort of excitement or bloodlust. She checked him out just to be sure, finding that the fear was accompanied by frustration and anger (though not at her, surprisingly). The scent of his spirit told her more, more than she wanted to know, actually. There was a strong odor of guilt, but underneath that an even stronger, startlingly fresh smell of courage and a love of life. It reminded her of the smell the forest had, when it sang in the night after a rainstorm. This was a good man, probably, and she suddenly did not want to have to deal with him anymore. He must have ticked off some corrupt village leader, and his goodness was now being punished, which was making her feel angry and helpless. Even worse, she could not bear the thought of a good man to actually have come here, literally within her grasp, because inevitably he was going to walk away without ever knowing the truth, and the disappointment would crush what little remained of her heart. She had given up hope long ago that things could be any different.

His shout startled her. It was not often that they _tried_ to get her attention. She stopped and looked back at him, angrily steeling herself for whatever abuse he meant to yell at her, but was surprised when he instead demanded release from his bonds. The thought of eating him was sickening and did not do good things to her stomach, so she yelled back at him, angry at his assumption that she meant to kill him. Why did they always think that? Oh, beware the big scary monster, its mindless rage leaves no survivors, it chomps up helpless girls without a speck of remorse. Just because she was bigger and stronger and uglier than them; she _hated_ it.

Yet...he probably _had_ been tied up for a while, and it seemed a little mean to just go off to bed and leave him here all night. Come to think of it, she wouldn't be able to sleep if she knew he was still out there, probably cold and hungry on top of being uncomfortable.

Sighing, she turned around and went back over to him, annoyed at and ashamed of her lumbering gait. When she was alone she was sometimes able to forget about it, but in the presence of a human, she felt like the ugliest thing alive. If he wasn't so afraid of her, he would probably find her disgusting. Well, why should she care? She was never going to see him again anyway, unless he came back at the head of a mob intent on destroying her. _'Time to pack up and move again,'_ she thought resentfully. _'No thanks to you, you little jerk. I probably_ should_ leave you out here all night, and give myself time to escape.'_

Yet it was only an idle thought, and she leaned over to pull the wooden pole out of the ground. Of course his hands would need to be freed, too. _'Now how am I supposed to do that?'_ she thought irritably. The rope was _tiny_. Her claws were _huge_. However he was no delicate maiden, and the sword probably meant that he was a warrior and not unaccustomed to pain. _'Guess he'll just have to suck it up,'_ she thought, and pushed him down so she could get at the ropes.

She was a little surprised that he did not struggle, and she was soon grateful for his stillness as she worked to slit the knots. It was tricky, trying to slip a large claw between his arms and cut the ropes without hurting him, and she did not quite manage it in the end. The sight of blood welling up out of his skin made her wince. This evidence of her own monstrousness and ineptitude made her sad, so she turned away and headed back into her cave. Tonight would be her last night here for a while, since she needed to be gone before the intruder came back with his mob.

Stupid little red-haired girly-man. She had forgotten what she looked like, but he was probably prettier than her even _with_ that scar slashed across his face. Of all the stupid things, finding herself still capable of being attracted to a human was humiliating by now. And if he could look so handsome even with the scar, even when he was angry and frightened, what might he look like when he smiled or laughed? _'You'll never find out, so it doesn't matter. Find something more useful to daydream about,'_ she grumbled silently to herself. This was even more depressing than usual.

She had settled down in her nest and lay brooding, waiting for sleep, when the sound of footsteps startled her. She jerked her head up, astounded to realize that the little human had _followed her into the cave_. Was he _stupid_? Or did he intend to attack her?

Growling, she leaned half out of bed and batted him away, knocking him to the ground. His sheathed sword clattered to the floor and she swept it up, tucking it away against the wall so that he would not be able to reach it. Then she glared, but he did not seem threatening at all now.

He had scrambled back to his feet and now stood with one arm raised, breathing hard as he stared wide-eyed. His gaze was oddly blank, and he was looking in the wrong direction. She suddenly remembered that humans could not see in the dark; he was probably blind in here.

Her fear and anger suddenly dissolved, and her heart softened. Poor little man, he probably thought he was going to die any second. _'Well, what did you expect, strolling into a dragon's lair?'_ she thought irritably. He looked almost pathetic, that spindly little arm raised as if it could offer him any protection from her. She could kill him so, so easily, it would not take any effort at all.

Sighing, she scraped a pile of burnable items together and shot a small spout of flame at it. The cave was suddenly illuminated, the flickering darkness a little irritating to her vision. The man had started at the sudden light, but when he saw her still lying down, currently making no move to hurt him, the smell of his fear receded. He lowered his arm and held her eyes for a long moment, then drew in a sharp breath and looked away. The sound of his voice startled her. "I'm sorry...for intruding."

She growled in acknowledgement. _'You'd _better_ be.'_

He winced, but continued after a minute. "I meant...I came..." He looked at her again, his expression helpless. "I don't know why I came."

Her eyes widened. They stared at each other for a long time. Then, to her amazement, he took a few steps closer to her. "I'm sorry I frightened you."

Her gravelly laughter came bursting out of her, along with uneven puffs of smoke. _He_ was apologizing for frightening _her_? Granted, he _had_ frightened her, but...well, she had never in her wildest dreams expected a human to-

Well. She had never expected a human to talk to her like another human being, much less apologize to her for _anything_. Something about that realization hurt, and she found her eyes burning. A couple of huge steaming tears came welling up. Hearing him gasp, she angrily blinked the tears away.

To her astonishment, he was hurrying even closer. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"

_'To make me cry?'_ she thought furiously. Suddenly hating him, she lowered her head down to his and growled menacingly.

He stopped in his tracks, but though the smell of his terror was strong again, he did not back away. After a moment, he swallowed and spoke. "I'm sorry. None of this makes any sense..." He laughed weakly. "You are _nothing_ like what I expected."

_'And _you_ aren't like anything I ever even dreamed I could expect.'_ She was crying again. Stupid little man, why wouldn't he run away?

She got to her feet and picked him up, heading back for the entrance, but after a few steps she slowed and stopped. When she carried animals and (every once in a great while) people, the feel of them struggling frantically in her claws made her sick, even worse than the limp feel of her meals when they were dead. She had never before carried unresisting living flesh.

Raising the man up to her face, she looked at him in bewilderment, and he stared back. One of his arms was pinned to his side, the other rested almost casually on her claw. He seemed...not comfortable, exactly; she could feel how tense he was, could still smell the fear in him. But there was something else as well, and she was shocked when she finally realized what it was. Trust. No creature in her grasp had ever trusted her not to hurt it, but here was this little man acting as if he _didn't_ expect to get eaten any second.

_'How do you know?'_ she thought furiously. _'Just because I haven't eaten you yet, how do you know I'm not saving you for later or something? Stupid! Stupid little man!'_ Vengefully, she raised him to her mouth and actually closed her jaws around him, then waited for him to scream.

He didn't. He didn't wriggle nearly as much as she expected, either. As seconds passed and her teeth did not pierce flesh, she felt his panic fade away, though he still remained conscious.

Finally she took him back out of her mouth and looked at him again. He was damp from the humidity of her mouth and gasping for breath, looking a little haggard as their eyes met. _'Yes, my breath stinks,'_ she thought defensively. _'I eat raw meat, you know. Sorry it doesn't smell lovely enough for you.'_

"Thank you for not eating me," he croaked at her. "I offer my deepest apologies for offending you in any way."

_'Oh, shut up!'_ Continuing on, she came to the cave entrance and deposited him on the ground outside. _'Go,'_ she thought at him irritably. _'Run, be free. I won't bother you again, which is probably more than I can say for you.'_ Then she went back to bed, feeling worse than before.

_To be continued..._


	3. The Next Morning

_**Sapphire Scales**_**, a Rurouni Kenshin fanfic by Raberba girl**

**Chapter 3 - The Next Morning**

It was cold out here. Kenshin shivered, not relishing the thought of having to spend the night sitting out in the woods, especially right next to a dragon cave. Speaking of which...

He eyed the cave mouth warily. To tell the truth, he was not terribly anxious to return to that moody creature either, but...the cave was warm, and the dragon had showed little sign of hurting him. Of course, he did not know what to make of that truly horrible moment when it had put him in its mouth, especially when it had then taken him out again. It did not make sense for the dragon to suddenly feel hungry, try to take a bite out of him, then randomly change its mind. It had seemed too upset to be merely teasing, either.

Perhaps it was some sort of test, or perhaps it had just wanted to see his reaction, or maybe it had wanted to hear him beg for mercy. Whatever the case, it had let him go in the end- No, not just let him go. It had dumped him out here as if it _wanted_ him to escape.

And it had been crying. There was no denying that, even if he could not wrap his mind around the possibilities of why a dragon would weep.

It wasn't like he had nowhere else to go...but returning to the village would be pointless, especially since he had no token of the dragon's demise; and if he returned to the Ishin Shishi, there would only be more assassination orders waiting for him.

Kenshin's mouth tightened. No. No more, at least for a while.

He pounded his fists against his head, then took a deep breath and ventured back inside.

After a few steps, he came back out again. It had NOT been fun, the last time, to have been suddenly struck by an unseen force, and then have to stand there helplessly waiting to be torn to pieces. This time, he was going in with a torch.

After fashioning this useful object, he went into the cave yet again, taking his steps with care. The firelight flickered wildly on the rocky walls, disorienting him a little. It was difficult to see, but much better than walking blind, so he forced himself to keep going until he reached the dragon again.

He could see the cave continuing farther and found himself thinking unpleasantly of things that might be hiding in the dark back there, but luckily he did not have to go on. Instead he stopped by the huge (to him, anyway) niche where the dragon was lying. The creature was curled up in a sort of nest, mostly consisting of hay that he suspected had been stolen. The dragon looked almost endearing at the moment, with its nose tucked under the edge of its tail and huge tears still leaking slowly out of its eyes.

_'Poor thing,'_ Kenshin found himself thinking. Then he shook his head in disgust. Who was he, to be pitying a beast that was so much bigger and stronger than him? For all he knew, it was crying out of remorse for letting breakfast escape.

Sighing, he sat down against the wall and laid the torch on the dusty ground. It would probably go out soon, which was a shame, but there was nothing else to do with it. In the last of the light, Kenshin gazed at the dragon, watching its scales glimmer in the torchlight like waves of the sea. It really was a beautiful creature, with a sleek streamlined body and magnificent wings, now folded close along its length. He wished idly that he could someday admire a dragon at his leisure, without being distracted by pesky emotions like terror.

Even now, his heart was pounding at the thing's proximity; its heat enfolded him, so that already he felt sweat trickling down the side of his face. It looked docile enough now, but he knew that any second it could suddenly spring up and pounce on him. He found himself focusing on the tears, hopeful evidence that the creature might possibly have a soft spot. Why would a dragon cry? Why would it reject a perfectly good chunk of meat? Kenshin had no clue, but the unknown answers to those questions gave him hope that it had not been a mistake to feel sorry for this dangerous creature.

Preoccupied with his thoughts, he did not notice when he drifted off to sleep.

o.o.o.o.o

The next morning, Kenshin was rudely awakened by a roaring noise and the feel of himself once again being scooped up in dragon claws. He snapped to full consciousness immediately, and noticed distractedly that the cave was no longer black. The cave mouth glowed bright with morning sunshine, which reached inside a surprising distance and paled the blackness beyond. The next second they were out in that sunshine, where at the dragon's emergence, a host of birds immediately flew out of the treetops, shrieking. The dragon held Kenshin up in front of its face and _roared_.

Pressing his hands over his ears and squeezing his eyes shut, Kenshin realized that its roar the night before had only been a mere raising of its voice. This was an insanely loud _bellow_, a sound that struck his body and thundered down into his ears despite the meager protection of his hands clamped over them. Just when he felt like he was going to be ripped apart by the sound alone, it finally stopped.

For a while he lay limp in the dragon's foreleg, panting as he tried to recover from the audial assault. His ears were thick with the echo, and he knew he would be virtually deaf for a while. Finally, he cracked his eyes open and nearly closed them again when he saw the dragon glaring at him. Its sapphire gaze was huge and piercing, almost too bright to look at. _'Is it going to eat me now?'_ Kenshin thought in despair. _'Did I go too far this time?'_

Then he frowned._ 'Too far in what, exactly? What is it even mad about, anyway?'_ The dragon's thought processes were utterly foreign to him, so, with nothing else to say, Kenshin finally managed a wobbly, "Good morning."

The dragon made a deep snorting noise and then stumped off, walking ungracefully but firmly on its hind legs. Kenshin wrapped his arms around the nearest claw and held on for dear life, eyes wide as he watched trees whizzing by with each step. Then he was suddenly being held out in the air, no longer close to the dragon's body. "Wait!" he cried. "Don't drop-!"

The claws opened and he went hurtling down. He had just opened his mouth to yell when he was suddenly struck by a sheet of icy cold wetness. His ears were still ringing so that he did not hear the splash, but it was immediately quite obvious that the dragon had decided to throw him into a lake.

Thrashing desperately, he fought his way back to the surface and gasped in mouthfuls of air (along with a bit too much water than he would have liked), trying to swim for shore. He made it in the end, no thanks to the dragon, which was crouched cat-like on the shore and watching him intently with narrowed eyes. It was extremely disconcerting. Kenshin, sopping wet, glared back as he stomped up to dry ground. "What was that for?"

The dragon growled. It was unfortunate that it could not speak human language, since Kenshin would really, really have liked an explanation. "Well?" he challenged. "Are you ever going to get around to pouncing, or do I have time to dry first?"

Looking disdainful, the dragon eased back and sat up, still glaring down at him. Kenshin shook his head and then started pulling off his soaked clothes.

The effect on the dragon was odd. At first it simply tilted its head and looked at him in a puzzled way. Then, as his bare flesh began to emerge, it suddenly snorted and hurriedly backed up, looking comical in its dismay. Kenshin frowned, watching it as he continued to undress. Was he offending its modesty or something? It couldn't be startled by the removal of his clothing - surely a beast as intelligent as the dragon would realize that Kenshin's outer coverings were not actual parts of his body, right?

As Kenshin, now naked, untied his hair and began to squeeze the excess water out of it, he watched the dragon flying away after an extremely clumsy takeoff. "Very strange," he muttered as he spread his clothes out to dry in the sun.

About an hour or two later he saw the dragon flying back, and noted that it landed around where the cave was, rather than where he was still sitting by the lake. Even though his clothes were still a little damp, he dressed again and made his way back to the cave-

Where he found the dragon eating breakfast.

Kenshin froze, his eyes riveted to the sight of the beast chewing on a cow. Blood ran freely down over its chin and claws, and thick strands of slimy gore dripped down with every bite it took. The dragon froze when it noticed him as well, and they stood staring at each other for a long time. Then the dragon slowly began chewing again, its brilliant blue eyes still fixed on his. When it had finished, having eaten the entire cow bones, hide, and all, it sat back and belched, hugely and defiantly.

Kenshin found that he had his back pressed against a tree. He closed his eyes for a minute, then opened them again and forced himself to walk forward. He had seen battle, he had performed assassinations; it was not the sight of the blood that so unnerved him. It was the horribly vivid image of himself in the cow's place, and the helpless ignorance as to why he was still alive. "Any chance you've saved some breakfast for me?" His casual tone was obviously not fooling either of them.

The dragon's eyes narrowed - and then it pointed down with a claw. Kenshin stared, amazed at the anthropomorphic gesture, then shook himself and looked where it was pointing. There was a smoking animal carcass lying on the ground, next to a crumpled heap of leaves, broken wood, and apples. He stared, unable to believe it.

_The dragon had brought him breakfast_, as best it could anyway. The carcass was unrecognizable beyond the fact that it had four legs and was about the size of a dog, but Kenshin was rather touched that the dragon had "cooked" it for him. The apples were a nice addition; the dragon had probably taken the smallest branch it could find from an orchard. It was a very strange sort of breakfast, but incredible when he considered the fact that the dragon was actually taking care of him. "Thank you," he said weakly. Its only response was to snort and head back into the cave.

Kenshin ate slowly, thinking. There was something about this dragon that was making it more and more impossible for him to simply walk away. The dragon was...almost a person, and not a very happy one at that. It felt wrong somehow to just leave it here alone, when it was obviously upset and lonely and had so far shown little sign of murderous tendencies. There was a mystery to it that would plague him if he were to leave now and likely never see the creature again.

Kenshin sighed. Then he wiped his mouth and hands clean, and went after the dragon yet again. It was closer to the entrance this time, nosing around the floor. In the sunlight, Kenshin could see that the cave was not empty except for the dragon's bed, as he had previously thought. There were various things scattered around the walls: a few bits of rusty armor or pieces of jewelry with some of the jewels knocked out, broken spear shafts, a tattered-looking flag. Kenshin even spotted that stupid sakabatô, and smiled a little as he went to retrieve it.

As he was picking it up, he jumped when he heard a low, heavy growl just over his shoulder. Even though his heart was pounding, he deliberately continued his movements (albeit a little slower) and turned to look at the dragon - his host. It was probably worried he would try to attack it if he had a weapon. "Look," he said, carefully drawing the sword and holding it where the dragon could see. "The blade's reversed." He smiled a little, shaking his head. "Imagine how much damage I could cause with this."

The dragon blinked and made grumbling noises, as if not entirely satisfied but unable to think of a good argument. It was disconcertingly human behavior.

Kenshin hesitated. Then he slipped the sakabatô into his belt and smiled again, more warmly this time. "Thank you for the meal," he told the dragon, gazing right into its eyes. The grumbling abruptly stopped, and it pulled its head away. "Listen!" he called up to it, not wanting it to go away.

It paused, not looking at him.

"I mean it, I really am grateful. You have treated me very kindly, and it is to my shame that we have not yet been introduced. My name is Himura Kenshin, and it truly is an honor to make your acquaintance."

Now it _was_ looking at him, this time in shock.

"I...I realize that this is an extremely unusual situation...but, if I may, I would like to intrude on your hospitality a little while longer." He waited a bit nervously for a response.

After a minute, the dragon raised its head and emitted a brief spat of flame.

Kenshin winced, but then it dawned on him that he was going to have to learn to understand this dragon as it understood him, since they were unable to speak each other's languages. He thought a moment. "Either you're saying that you've got a sore throat, or you are pointing out that it would be foolish to hang around with someth- with someone who could hurt me so easily."

The dragon rolled its eyes, which was interesting but not particularly helpful. "Well...well, you're right. I don't know what to say to that, except that...that you haven't really hurt me so far, even though you could have killed me at any time."

It seemed that he had gotten it right, because the dragon was staring at him with wide eyes. Then the foreleg hesitantly reached down, and Kenshin braced himself as the claws curled around him. To his relief, the dragon did not pick him up this time, but sort of hugged him with its foreleg before withdrawing again. Did that mean he could stay?

"We have an agreement, then?" he called up. "If so, I will need something better to call you than 'Dragon.' What about Sapphire, since that is the color of your scales?"

The dragon hesitated. Then it reached down its foreleg again and began scratching in the dirt with its claw. Kenshin went over to look, and after a minute his eyes widened in amazement. For there in the dirt floor of the cave, the dragon was laboriously carving three katakana characters, obviously the easiest system for it to write in. "Ka-o-ru," he sounded out. "That's...your name?"

He peered up at the dragon, frowning. A suspicion had occurred to him, a rather unpleasant one if it turned out to be right, considering that he had earlier stripped off all his clothes in front of the dragon. His eyes automatically moved to a certain area of the dragon's anatomy and registered that certain glands were lacking.

His eyes widened. "You're...a female," he realized. Then his face turned beet-red as he realized what he was doing and he looked away hurriedly, but too late. Kaoru emitted a piercing dragon-shriek and her foreleg came slamming down at him. He threw himself to the ground and covered his head, yelling, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Her claws furiously raked the ground around him, and then she gouged out a chunk of dirt and flung it on him.

She was long gone by the time he managed to struggle free of the mountain of dirt she had buried him under. "Ugh," he groaned. "I'm such an _idiot_."

Yet there was something more serious to think about, the fact that this dragon was squeamish about nudity. There was only one explanation for this that made sense, and Kenshin realized that if he was right, there was no way he could leave Kaoru until he had done everything he could to help.

_To be continued..._


	4. The Moon

_**Sapphire Scales**_**, a Rurouni Kenshin fanfic by Raberba girl**

**Chapter 4 - The Moon**

She was so mad she wanted to rend him limb from limb. First the pure audacity of his sleeping practically next to her all night, especially when she had been too upset to notice him until she woke up. Why had he come back, anyway? He must have a death wish - well, she certainly wasn't going to oblige him; she wasn't _completely_ uncivilized yet.

Then stripping stark naked right in front of her, then _looking_ to see if she was a girl... Just thinking about it made her growl. Now she was going to be so embarrassed if he still refused to leave and kept seeing her naked, but she was a _dragon_. It was _stupid_ to even consider wearing clothes.

_'That does it,'_ she fumed. _'Next time I see you, I'm carrying you right over the mountains so you can't come back.'_ That would be mean, though...he might have family that was worried about him, though if he did, he didn't seem too worried about them in return. _'Stupid, infuriating little redhead...'_

She remembered uncomfortably how he had been so polite, how he kept coming back despite his obvious fear. Who knew why he wouldn't leave, but the company was be kind of nice...it was just that she wanted _equal_ company, which was impossible. Other dragons could barely communicate with her and could never understand her, and humans, even this one exception who didn't hate her on sight, were too fragile for her to live comfortably with. The little man...Kenshin...he was no equal in most respects, but neither was he a pet or some stranger she could write off. He _understood_ her. He was like a disembodied voice, a huge consciousness with a tiny, almost insignificant body.

_'Well...not quite insignificant,'_ she thought grudgingly. Her cheeks cooled with embarrassment as she suddenly recalled, against her will, the sight of him naked. _'As if anything could work between us,'_ she thought bitterly. She refused, _refused_ to entertain the ridiculous notion that he could help her. It was too late, it had been too long. And no one, not even polite little Himura Kenshin, would be able to love her.

She heaved a great sigh and then got to her feet again. She had been sulking in the Secret Room, but the sight of its sad relics was depressing her again. She trudged back through the cave, and paused when she found Kenshin where she had left him. She bared her teeth in a smirk. He had managed to work his hand and shoulder free of the huge (to him) dirt pile, but his elbow was still awkwardly buried, as was the rest of him of course. He froze when he saw her, and they stared at each other. Then he asked, rather hopelessly, "Please?"

_'Nope,'_ she thought in satisfaction. _'You can get free all by your lovely little self, you jerk.'_

Once outside, she took flight and circled around for a minute, wondering idly where to go today. She passed over fields and little clumps of houses, with a road or two flowing over the land like brown streams. Bellowing herds of sheep and cows surged away from her shadow as she passed. Occasionally a human would look up at her and stare, their terrified expressions thankfully too far away to be seen.

Eventually a cheerful blue glimmering caught her eye, and she looked to see a waterfall in the distance, emptying into a lake. Having pleasant memories from a few previous visits, Kaoru approached and soared down to land above the lake. Water could be dangerous to a dragon, but only in cold weather; right now it was still warm enough for her to enjoy herself. Standing for a while at the height of the falls, Kaoru looked over the edge to watch the water cascading down endlessly, feeling peaceful from the constant rushing sound of the falls and the sensation of the current meeting resistance from her body's bulk.

When she was ready, she leaped over the edge and fell with the water down to the lake, spreading her wings to soften her landing. It was not enough to prevent a tremendous splash, and she watched with pleasure as waves rippled out to shore. Then she rolled onto her back and lay in the water for a long time, gazing up at the sky.

She watched the sun, staring straight into it with eyes that were bright with fires of their own. She watched the birds, who swooped and soared through the air like living pieces of joy. Her heart was with them more than with anything else, sharing their delight and envying their oblivious animal minds. None of _them_ were imprisoned in their own bodies, or were afraid to go home for fear of facing little red-haired men again.

Kaoru frowned and sat up, water flowing down her back as if she was shedding a mantle of sky. _Afraid?_ Her? Of a suicidal little human? _'I'll show _you_ who's afraid,'_ she growled, then closed her eyes in disgust when she realized that she was talking to herself.

She took off from right there in the middle of the lake, water showering down from her body. On the way home it occurred to her that the little Kenshin would probably appreciate lunch, so she snagged a deer for him. Then as she continued on, she remembered that humans did not eat as much as dragons, and he probably had enough left over from breakfast to last him the rest of the day. _'Idiot,'_ she thought at herself in disgust. Oh well. She would just eat the deer herself and find something else to feed Kenshin tomorrow.

As she approached, she was surprised to find him standing outside the cave, watching her as she made her landing. _'What are you looking at?'_ she thought, glaring.

He smiled up at her. He was filthy, with dirt still drifting gently down from his hair and clothes. "You looked so beautiful just then," he said admiringly.

She stared at him in shock, then realized he must have meant it sarcastically. _'You JERK!'_ She slung her tail down, hitting the ground so close to him that he stumbled. _'And I was trying to be _nice_, too!'_

"Is that how you usually take compliments?" he called up accusingly when he had regained his balance. "What's wrong with liking the way you fly?"

She turned her back on him and sulked.

After a minute she heard him sigh. "I'm going to go take a bath now."

_'Good. You need it.'_

"Stay away from the lake."

_'As if I'd want to go peeping at you!'_

"Okay?"

_'O-_kay_!'_ She accompanied this thought with an irritated thump of her tail, and soon she could hear his footsteps moving away. Then she lay her head down on her forelegs and sighed.

o.o.o.o.o

She couldn't enjoy the moonrise as she usually did. Her back prickled as she sensed him behind her, his eyes on her, his presence looming around her despite the diminutive size of his body. Then she heard rustling sounds as he got to his feet and came close to her. "What are we waiting for?" he asked.

She looked down and noticed him tense as their eyes met, but he held her gaze steadily. She sighed and pointed at the sky.

He cocked his head. "Is...er, someone coming?" he asked, unable to completely keep the nervousness out of his voice.

She grinned, but at the sight of her bared teeth he took a hurried step back. It hurt to watch, and her smile disappeared at once. But then, to her astonishment, he walked forward again and actually came all the way up to her, placing a hand on her scales. Her hide was too tough for her to feel his touch, so she had to rely on her eyes to stare at him and reassure herself that she wasn't dreaming. A human had just approached her and reached out to her amicably. She had to blink hard to stop more tears from coming.

"I'm sorry," he said, almost too quietly for her to hear. "I'm afraid you're going to have to be patient with me. I don't know you very well yet."

Completely floored, Kaoru lowered her head so she could stare at him better. _'Are you _real_?'_ she thought almost angrily. _'Am I so lonely that I've started hallucinating? I think that's it, I think you're my new imaginary friend. You can't be an angel, because I wasn't struck by lightning when I threw you in the lake.'_

"What are you thinking?" he finally wondered.

She chuckled darkly. _'You don't want to know.'_ She sighed and looked back at the sky.

After a few minutes he asked in a small voice, "Is your mate the same size as you, or bigger?"

_'My WHAT?'_ He thought she was waiting for the return of a _mate_? Kaoru shook her head violently, thinking of the lustful winged beats that had come after her in the early years, until she had maimed enough of them for the rest to get the point.

"So he's smaller?" Kenshin asked hopefully.

Kaoru would have smacked a hand over her face if such a gesture had not run the risk of poking her eye out with her own claw. Going over to the cave entrance, she began scratching crude pictures in the dirt of two dragons. Apparently Kenshin could see well enough in the glow from her open throat, because she sensed the blood rushing to his face when, remembering the earlier fiasco, she vengefully added a bit of detail on one picture that obviously marked it as a male. This image she then proceeded to claw over and stamp on. Then she looked at Kenshin to see if he understood.

He was staring at her, open-mouthed. "You _killed_ him?"

Kaoru roared up at the sky in exasperation. She noticed that, though he cowered away at first, he recovered himself and looked back at her even before she finished venting. She glared at him.

"Then who _are_ we waiting for, if you haven't been pining for an absent mate all this time?" he asked, sounding almost as frustrated as she felt.

Oh, for crying out loud... She reached to pick him up, but paused when he started to cringe away and then planted his feet with a resolute but unhappy expression. He probably didn't like being man-handled, but was...what, too polite to say so?

Thoughtfully, Kaoru spread out her claws instead, and after a surprised moment he actually stepped into her "palm" and wrapped an arm around her upright "thumb" for balance. Satisfied that this new arrangement was more comfortable for him, Kaoru brought him up and let him clamber onto the top of her head. She felt him sit down hastily when she turned to look at the dark sky again.

Belatedly, she realized that he was now in a prime position to draw his sword and stab her in the eye, but after a few tense minutes she was surprised to hear him begin to sing softly, a little nursery rhyme that she remembered from a long, long time ago. He suddenly stopped and mumbled, "Sorry. Was that bothering you?"

"Eeeeaaah," she growled, shaking her head very slowly so as not to dislodge him.

There was a thoughtful silence from atop her head. Then he asked, his tone oddly testing, "Will you let me stay here a little longer?"

Hadn't they already gone over this? "Haaaa." Nodding was trickier.

She heard him chuckling. _'What?'_ she thought defensively.

"So you _can_ talk, a little," he said in satisfaction. "Iie. Hai. You got the pronunciation pretty close."

Suddenly angry and embarrassed, she growled vehemently, and he subsided at once. The moon was finally rising, but she looked at it sullenly, all pleasure in the sight gone. After a while she heard Kenshin suddenly gasp, "Ohhhh! We're looking at the moon, right?"

A cool blush crept through her face. She was terrified that he would fall off if she nodded again, so reluctantly she said, "Haaaa."

His voice had a smile in it. "She is very beautiful."

The blush intensified, though Kaoru could not fathom why, since he was referring to the moon.

Later, she tried to make him a crude bed, but he refused her efforts politely and settled down against the wall outside her bedroom again, his sword tucked comfortably in his arms. With his scent in her nose, she lay listening to the comforting sound of his heartbeat and watched him gaze thoughtfully into the darkness long into the night.

_To be continued..._

Author's Note: **Okay, cheesy disclaimer here - NEVER STARE DIRECTLY INTO THE SUN. **You are not a dragon, you'll damage your eyes. Hopefully you all knew that already, but I mention it just in case.


	5. The Lake

_**Sapphire Scales**_**, a Rurouni Kenshin fanfic by Raberba girl**

**Chapter 5 - The Lake**

This time he woke up before her. There was a second of disorientation, but then he remembered - _'I've been captured by a dragon.'_ It was not quite true, since saying, _'I've invaded a dragon's home and refuse to leave'_ would be more accurate, but the result was the same.

Without moving, he looked over at Kaoru and saw her curled up, tail tucked half over her face, her huge sides moving up and down regularly as she breathed. He wondered if she had always been this breathtaking, or if it was only because she was a dragon. He had very little experience with dragons. Were they like cats, almost all of them beautiful simply because of their design?

He jumped when one of the huge sapphire eyes popped open. It looked at him balefully (he wondered nervously if dragons could read minds), until he finally smiled and said, "Good morning." There was a low growl, and she closed her eyes again.

She was such a grumpy thing, but he supposed he could not blame her. He would be too in her position, at least if his theory was right. Actually if he was in her position, he would have either gone insane or lain down to die of self-loathing. He wondered how long she had been suffering, if she was so hurt that she would reject kindness when it finally came to her.

Sighing, Kenshin got up and rested his hand on her head for a moment (he had to reach up on tip-toes to do so), then went outside to see what could be done about breakfast.

How did Kaoru usually occupy her time? Kenshin wondered about that as he watched her spread her wings for takeoff. It would be boring, stuck here alone all day again. "Kaoru-dono," he called. He figured she deserved better than a mere "-san," what with the knack he seemed to have developed for irritating her. Plus she was so ridiculously huge and strong, addressing her as an equal seemed a bit presumptuous on his part.

She stumbled, and looked down at him in surprise.

"Can I come?"

Her eyes widened, but only a little. They were getting used to shocking each other.

After a long pause, she finally lay down and stretched out a wing toward him. It took him a minute to realize he was supposed to climb up it, and it was only when she shifted impatiently and began to growl (which did not do good things to his nerves) that he hastily tried to clamber up. It was a little difficult until she lifted her wing so that the surface was more or less even. After that he was able to walk (more or less) along it until he reached her body, where he settled down in the hollow at the base of her neck. "Is that uncomfortable?" he called up.

"Eeeaah," she grunted, preparing for takeoff again. Kenshin lurched to the side as she moved and saved himself by snatching one of the small (to her) spikes that lined her spine. There was another pressing upright against his back. It was not entirely comfortable, but he supposed that any other design would have resulted in a falling Kenshin from the sky. Yes, best to avoid that.

He was stalling, he realized. Because the minute he stopped concentrating on his balance and on looking at the dragon's scales before him, he would be noticing with full attention the fact that they were _flying_, as in, very high in the air with _nothing between them and the ground_. Going at a pretty fast clip, too. Kenshin swallowed, and maintaining his grip he forced himself to look over at what he could see of the ground.

He had never seen anything like it, this view of earth from above, moving so quickly that landmarks passed by like leaves flowing past in a river. Yet the land was so wide and open, bounded only by the far off mountains. _'Not so far off,'_ he realized in surprise. _'Not to her. She could get there in a day.'_

He did not know how long it was that they flew, but just when his muscles began to relax and he began to enjoy the feel of the wind in his hair, he noticed that they were descending. The circling began to make him dizzy, but before it could evolve into full nausea, Kaoru had touched the ground and flowed to a practiced stop. It took Kenshin a minute to pull himself together enough to climb to his feet, and he had already wobbled halfway down her wing before he realized there was nothing below but water.

He stopped. "Wait a minute..." Then the wing tipped and Kenshin found himself splashing down into a lake again, for the second time in as many days. "Arrrgh!" Bursting back up again, he glared at Kaoru, who was baring her teeth at him in a dragon grin. "Don't laugh at me!" he pouted, and shoved his arms through the water to splash her.

Despite his best efforts, the little waves looked pathetic lapping peacefully against her bulk. Then she brought her tail around to splash back, and Kenshin found himself being smothered with huge sheets of water as if caught in the ocean. Luckily it was quite warm from her body heat, unlike last time. Coughing, he regained his balance to find her wading leisurely past him, steam rising around her as she approached the waterfall.

Watching her retreating back, Kenshin sighed ruefully, frustrated at the huge discrepancy in their strength. He wasn't used to this... I'izuka and the others often teased him, Shishou liked to beat him up during training, but no one ever made him feel as helpless as Kaoru did. It might even be possible that Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryuu wouldn't-

Kenshin suddenly grinned and drew his sword for a Doryuusen.

Kaoru actually lurched when the wall of water hit her, and the look of astonishment in her eyes as she looked back at him was priceless. But then the huge amounts of displaced water came surging back, and Kenshin felt his grin dissolve. He just had time to think, _'Oh, you stupid idiot'_ at himself before he was caught up in the angry currents.

Tumbling in a sudden world of water, pulled in what felt like several directions at once, it was all Kenshin could do to maintain his grip on the sakabatô, which suddenly felt ten times heavier than usual. Holding his breath was becoming difficult; he really, really hoped that the lake would calm down enough for him to surface before his lungs gave out...

There was a sudden huge scrabbling, and Kenshin nearly lost the last of his air to a yell of alarm. _'It's Kaoru-dono, it's only Kaoru-dono,'_ he told himself frantically, though it was still horrible watching those enormous claws searching through the water for him. She scooped him up so quickly that he nearly passed out from the lack of air; when he finally had his breath back, he found himself in a wet heap on the grass. Shakily, he climbed to his feet and looked up at Kaoru, whose head was lowered to gaze at him with anxious eyes. "Thank you," he croaked.

She pulled back and gestured oddly with her forelegs, as if she was holding a katana in front of her heart. Then she swept her forelegs around to indicate her body in a sign he did not understand and was truthfully not very interested in at the moment. "Kaoru-dono," he gasped, still short on breath and stricken with amazement, "You said my name." _Sword-heart_. Of course.

Then Kenshin's mouth dropped open, even as Kaoru was still blinking and growling in that embarrassed way of hers. "Kaoru-dono - _you know how to hold a sword!"_ This time she snarled and turned her back on him, which only strengthened the truth of his realization. True, she could have observed how human warriors gripped their weapons, but the other explanation seemed much more likely. "Kaoru-dono..."

He smiled as he looked at her sulking form, especially when she glanced reluctantly back over her shoulder with slitted eyes. Such a touchy creature... His heart went out to her more and more, as he saw how deep must be the wounds she was trying to protect. If only he could find out what to say, what to do, so that she would let him in...

A cool breeze brushed past him, and he shivered. It would have been pleasant enough ordinarily, but drenched to the skin like this-

Kaoru was coming for him. Alarmed, Kenshin backed away from the wide-open jaws that were descending, and his nerve nearly broke. Before he could run, her breath suddenly washed over him; he flung his arm over his face protectively and shouted her name.

However, nothing more happened, and when the hot blast was over, he looked up cautiously at her, confused. "Kaoru-dono...?" Her head was very close and she was staring at him tensely. Then he noticed that the front of him felt much more pleasant than the opposite side. Wonderingly, he touched his long bangs and the front of his clothes, which were perfectly dry where she had breathed on him, but his ponytail was dripping and the breeze was still making him shiver.

He laughed a little, meeting her eyes gratefully, then turned around and spread his arms. "Will you please do my back, too?" There was a pause, and then her breath came washing over him again. The hot blast made his shoulders ache, but he laughed again when he found himself completely dry. "Amazing." He took a moment to re-tie his wildly ruffled hair, then turned back to face Kaoru with a smile. "Thank you very much, Kaoru-dono."

She grunted in reply. Then she straightened again and swiped her foreleg through the water in imitation of Doryuusen, and knocked on her own head meaningfully.

He laughed self-consciously. "I know. I guess that was kind of dumb...but it _was_ worth it."

She made a noise that he was sure meant something like, _"Oh, really?"_ and scooped up some water to fling at him.

"No fair!" he cried, dodging through the sudden rain. "You want to take me on again? Let's see how well you handle Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryuu from dry land!"

It was a wonder the lake had any water left in it by the time they gave up. As Kenshin leaned back against Kaoru's spines on the way home (home?), raising his hand to touch the wind as they flew, it occurred to him that, not only had he played with a dragon and lived to tell the tale, but...it had actually been pretty fun, too.

o.o.o.o.o

"Kaoru-dono," he ventured that night, as he sat by a fire outside the cave and looked at her comfortably sprawling form. "You are a very...extraordinary dragon. I would very much like to hear your story." Then he braced himself, but the rumbling noise she made was not as fierce as her usual growling. Though she did not bother to move the rest of her body, her head slid away from him on the grass until he could not see her eyes anymore. For long minutes neither of them moved, and he finally sighed in disappointment.

She turned back to him and made the "sword-heart" gesture.

He frowned. "Me? You mean, tell my story first?" He was prepared for the sudden glint of firelight on dragon fangs, so her smile did not startle him this time. "Well...I suppose it's only fair."

He drew in an unhappy breath. Had Kaoru ever killed anyone before? Part of him hoped that she had not... He had been thinking of her as a caring, even innocent creature trapped beneath the awkward clumsiness, and he was not entirely willing to be disillusioned. Yet, if she _had_ killed anyone, given her nature, which was becoming more and more familiar to him - she would understand. "Kaoru-dono," he whispered.

Her eyes narrowed and she gestured at her ears.

He laughed self-consciously and spoke louder. "Kaoru-dono, I suppose you've never...killed anyone...have you?"

Her head came up, towering over him in insulted indignation.

He raised his hands placatingly. "I know, I know, I didn't think so. It would have just...made things a little easier, that's all."

She cocked her head, then leaned down and sniffed at him. He really did not want to know what sort of emotions she was smelling on him, or if dragons could pick up things that lesser beasts could not. He shivered when her wet nose touched the back of his neck as the rest of him felt scorched from her breath, and she withdrew. Settling down again, she gestured at him to continue.

He tried to smile. "Kaoru-dono...what would you say if you knew that these hands have shed more blood than yours? Human blood, I mean."

She snorted scornfully.

"Kaoru-dono...Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryuu was not originally designed for playing with dragons, you know."

Sitting up, she signed _"Kenshin,"_ held her claws very close together as if squishing something, swiped a claw past her throat in the "kill" gesture, then shook her head.

His mouth fell open in indignation. "You're...you're not saying I'm - too _small_ to kill anyone, are you?"

She grinned.

"Oh, shut up! You and everyone else," he grumbled, pouting when he heard her make a rumbling dragon chuckle. "Look, Kaoru-dono-"

She cut him off (a bit hastily, he thought) by signing _"Kenshin"_ again, then cupping her claws delicately around her face and batting her eyes, then "kill" and an emphatic shaking of the head.

"You think I'm too _pretty_ to kill anyone?" That was even worse.

_"No,"_ she tried again. _"Kenshin is too *something* to kill."_

"Too...what?" She had made a gesture that looked to him like rocking a baby. "Too maternal?"

She growled in frustration, then reached down to hug him with her claws. "Too...nice?"

_"Yes, yes! Kenshin is too nice to kill anyone."_

He looked away. "I'm only nice when I want to be," he muttered. "My enemies don't think I'm very nice at all."

She made a noise to get his attention again. _"Kenshin is nice to a big dragon."_

"_You're_ not my enemy," he pointed out.

_"Big dragon. Eat you."_ Then she made unpleasant gestures with her claws that looked like clashing armies. "Enemy," maybe.

"You have never been my enemy, Kaoru-dono," he told her clearly. "Even when I thought you were going to eat me, you were no enemy." Just a wild creature, who would have quite reasonably accepted a gift of a free meal.

She sighed heavily. _"Kenshin is too nice to *something*. Come out of sky."_ (Huh?) _"I like very much."_

"I like you very much also," he told her, and was surprised to find how true it was. When had his pity changed into true compassion, into the sort of caring he would have felt for a fellow human rather than a dragon? "But I think you still don't believe me." _'Because if you did, I'm sure you wouldn't want anything to do with me.'_

_"Kenshin is too nice to kill anyone,"_ she repeated stubbornly.

He sighed. "Well then, what about you? I've told - or tried to tell - my story, so what's yours?"

She grinned. _"I'm sleepy."_ Then she had the nerve to carve _oyasumi_ in the dirt at his feet before heaving herself up to enter the cave.

"That's not fair!" he called after her, leaping to his feet. There was no answer except a mischievous flick of the tip of her tail before she disappeared into the darkness. Kenshin rolled his eyes, put out the fire, and went in after her, yawning.

_To be continued..._

Author's Note: "Oyasumi" means "Good night." Very informal, but it's shorter than "Oyasumi-nasai," and Kaoru would want to go easy on her claws.


	6. The Mob

_**Sapphire Scales**_**, a Rurouni Kenshin fanfic by Raberba girl**

**Chapter 6 - The Mob**

They were coming.

The smell of their fear and their fury reached her even before she heard their shouts in the distance. Frantic, Kaoru took a step toward the cave with some wild, impulsive thought of rescuing what she could from the Secret Room. Then her gaze fell on Kenshin, who was innocently hacking another piece off of the cow she had provided for his supper. She could not carry her treasures and her Kenshin all at once, not with so little time to prepare...

She snatched him up and spread her wings. She had to save him. He was her most precious treasure now.

"Kaoru-dono!" he was shouting. "Kaoru-dono, what is it?" She did not have time to make him understand that they had to run, that she had to fly _now_. "Kaoru-dono!" he yelled again, so thunderously that she paused to glare at him.

He was glaring back. "What is it?" he demanded, looking uncharacteristically stern.

Impatiently, she pointed him in the direction of the approaching mob. The sun had set, but so recently that the skies were still gray. Even so, the torches were visible moving through the trees, heading straight for them. The shouts were faint, but close enough now that surely even a human could hear them. _'You understand now?'_ she thought angrily, but when she held him to face her again, she froze.

Kenshin was...different. She felt him rigid in her grip, his expression harder than she had ever seen it, his teeth gritted together and his eyes _glowing yellow_. The smell coming off him was powerful, furious and full of danger. Kaoru had never seen Kenshin like this before. For the first time she felt afraid, not of what he might have tried to do to her, but of _him_.

"Kaoru-dono," he said, frighteningly polite, "please put me down." It never even occurred to her to disobey. She set him down very gently. He stood there, the lines of his body suggesting a graceful coiling for action. "Kaoru-dono, please go into the cave, and do not come out until it's safe. I will handle this."

_"You?"_ she burst out incredulously. _"Little Kenshin, against a huge mob? They'll slaughter you!"_ She was not sure how much he understood of her wild gesticulating, but it didn't seem to matter.

"Please go now, Kaoru-dono," he said coldly.

She shivered, then was angry with herself for doing so. What was _wrong_ with him? _"Kenshin..."_

He turned his back on her, shoulders straight, feet set apart, one hand grasping the hilt of his sword, the other half-curled in readiness at his side. After a moment she growled and retreated.

They came soon, raging out of the trees like fiery insects, the points of their weapons gleaming. Her heart clenched in fear as she looked at those angry eyes, eyes that saw her as nothing more than a beast, eyes she had seen too many times before. Only Kenshin had ever dared to look at her dragon's form with kindness.

Those in the lead halted in shock. The menacing figure waiting to meet them was not the one they had expected.

"Good evening," Kenshin said pleasantly.

"Hitokiri Battousai?"

The name was tossed fearfully among the murmuring voices, and Kaoru stiffened. They took one look at Kenshin and called him by a strange name...called him hitokiri. _'No,'_ she thought. _'Please, please, no.'_ Her gentle little Kenshin, a killer of men? She had refused to believe him when he tried to tell her, unwilling to connect the odor of cringing guilt with the sweet smile she loved. But now, seeing him like this...

"He's alive."

"He's supposed to be...!"

"The dragon didn't-"

"Sorcery."

There was an angry hissing from the villagers, and a fluttering movement as many hands gestured to ward against evil. Kaoru's anger suddenly overrode her fear, and she emerged from the dark safety of her cave, growling in a low voice. She took her place beside her would-be protector, her head on a level with his. There was a terrified reaction from the villagers at her appearance, but none of them ran.

Kenshin startled her when he reached out to caress her scaled face, murmuring in a hot purr, "Did you hear that, Sapphire? They think I've laid you under some sort of enchantment to bind you to my will. It would never occur to the dumb clods that it could be the other way around." He grinned scarily for the villagers' benefit, but as he spoke he was signing at her, his amber eyes smoldering, _"You, go back to the cave."_

"Eeeaah," she growled, aware that the villagers were terrified and angered by the strange gesturing they took to be witchcraft. _"I'm staying with you."_

"Your help is appreciated, my dear Sapphire," he growled back, "but trust me, it's entirely unnecessary."

"Stop them!" a voice shouted. "Stop them before they bewitch us all!"

"Remember the gold," urged another voice. "No one who runs'll get a piece of the hoard!" The first of them charged, shouting.

Kaoru raised her head to roar - and when she looked down again, five of the attackers were on the ground, three more dropped in the next instant. There Kenshin stood in the midst of them, eyes burning, not even breathing hard after felling eight men in one go. _'What are you?'_ she thought hysterically. _'Are you human, or a demon?'_

He was hitokiri.

A cold feeling crept down her spine.

By this time some of the villagers were running. Kenshin flashed after them almost faster than the eye could see - they didn't have a chance. Others were frantically firing arrows at both dragon and hitokiri. The flimsy missiles broke apart on contact with Kaoru's scales and had as little hope of piercing Himura Battousai as they had of piercing the wind. Kaoru had not even had time to gather her wits together before the entire mob was mowed down, save for one man who stood wide-eyed and rigid with Battousai's sword at his throat, a pitchfork still clutched in one hand.

"Your eyes," Kenshin said, soft and deadly, "are not a coward's eyes, nor do they hold greed. What have you come for, then?"

The man swallowed. "That...thing," he said tightly, his glance flicking to Kaoru, "has been feeding on our livelihood. Yet another one of my cows was stolen just today - look, there it is."

Kenshin's eyes did not flicker, but Kaoru looked down guiltily at the partially-eaten carcass.

"So you meant to slay her for it?" Kenshin growled.

"Why not?" the man cried, sounding a little panicked as the blade shifted threateningly. "They're animals! We hunt the wolves that kill our sheep - why is this any different? What's so special about the Sapphire Beast that you protect it, Battousai?"

Kaoru growled, but Kenshin slowly lowered his sword and then looked up at her. "Kaoru-dono...he does have a point."

_'EXCUSE me?'_ she roared in outrage.

"I mean about the livestock!" he said quickly. "Kaoru-dono, we cannot keep stealing." _We_, not _you_.

_"Wild animals, hard to catch,"_ she signed defensively. Then, when she saw his eyes narrow, _"_Hard!_ Humans spread out, cut down trees, animals run away, hide. Hard to find. Forests, mountains, closer and closer, more and more. You see?"_

He was quiet for a moment. Then he turned to the man, who had fallen to his knees in terror. "Get up," he said impatiently. "She says that the human settlements are expanding, making it harder to find food."

"She _said_ that?" the man cried wildly.

"With her hands." For a moment Kenshin looked confused, then he shook his head dismissively. "It's not magic, I mean. But that isn't the problem here."

"That...is not an ordinary dragon..."

"Observant, aren't you," Kenshin said coldly. "Now, are you interested in working things out between yourself and your neighbor, or will you continue to babble and complain about how she communicates? There is only so much of that I will take patiently."

It was a while before they were finally alone again. When the last of the wounded villagers had been dragged away, Kenshin gazed for a long time at the reversed-blade sword before slowly sheathing it, looking thoughtful. Then he turned to Kaoru, but she growled at him. "Kaoru-dono..."

She blinked her eyes rapidly and meaningfully. His shoulders stiffened, and he reached up to touch his own eyes. "Oh...I'm sorry," he said helplessly. "I don't know how to make them..." Even as he spoke, the fiery gold of his eyes dimmed and faded back to their usual color.

Kaoru's heart seemed to unclench in relief when she saw it. Now more irritable and hurt than ever, she turned her back on him. He called her name again, pleadingly.

_'Did you only spare their lives because a female was present?'_ she thought sullenly, _'Or was it just that you couldn't cause any fatal damage with that blunt sword of yours?'_

She heard his footsteps approaching uncertainly, and she tensed, waiting. He stopped before he came into her sight. "Kaoru-dono," he said in a low voice. "I'm sorry. I tried to tell you..." He paused. "Do you want me to leave?"

She looked over at him quickly, growling. Did she want him to leave? Of course not, she wanted to keep him - she wanted _Kenshin_, the clumsy little creature with warm eyes and a sweet smile. Not a killer who had found refuge from his crimes in a dragon's lair. She could smell the spirit inside him, a strong spirit, but also but hurt and afraid; she could see him looking out of the familiar eyes at her...but he was not the only Kenshin. There was also Battousai, who had killed his fellow humans and would do so again. That part of him was angry, defensive. The layers of scent twined and became one, so that she knew she could not separate the two in her mind, could not have one without the other. He killed against his will in order to fulfill the desires of his softer nature...the same desires that longed to save her, and would never be able to.

_'How can I hate you,'_ she thought, _'when you ruin yourself out of pure selflessness?'_ He was the complete opposite of her, who had been ruined because of her self-centeredness. She didn't deserve him. He was a monster, yet even a monster like her didn't deserve him.

Sadness was coming off him in thick rolls like invisible smoke, smothering the hurt and anger beneath. "Very well. Good-bye, Kaoru-dono. I offer my sincerest gratitude for your hospitality." He bowed, then turned and began to walk away from her.

She watched him going in disbelief. _'I...I want...'_ Kenshin was leaving. She had all but told him to leave. Kenshin was-

Her tail came sweeping through the air and thudded to the ground in front of him so that he stumbled. For a moment he stared at the length of scaly flesh blocking his way, then turned cautiously to face her. "Kaoru-dono?"

_"Kenshin...here,"_ she signed awkwardly. _"Stay."_

A smile crept over his face. "As you wish." There was a distinct note of relief in his voice.

She lay down and swept him close to her so that she could be reassured by the tiny, soft tangibility of his body.

"I'm not a doll, you know," he protested, though he smelled more of contentment than indignation.

_"Mine."_

Grinning, he wriggled half out of her grip and patted her nose. "Mine."

The idea seemed so ridiculous, she had to turn her face away so she could laugh without harming him. When she looked back, he was rubbing his ears after the assault of the harsh, gravelly shrieks of her laughter, but he was still smiling. "I suppose I see now why you'd like to let your past stay in the past. I won't ask you again."

Hm. _"You. Talk."_

He frowned in puzzlement. "About what?"

_"Talk about..."_ She could not make him understand. Finally she let go of him and sat up so that she would have more freedom to sign, and at last he understood.

"You're going to make me tell you my story again?" he said indignantly.

_"I already know you're a bad person,"_ she teased. _"Tell me."_

"But _you_ haven't told me anything," he pouted.

She fidgeted. Then, careful not to specify a time frame, _"After."_

He sighed good-naturedly. "All right." He looked up at her again. "Kaoru-dono, how much do you know about human politics?"

_"Not a thing,"_ she admitted. It had been too long. She listened as he told her about why he fought, about human struggles that were interesting, but which she had a hard time thinking of as real. The only thing she really understood was that her scent-picture of him was right, that he shed blood reluctantly in the hope that it would lead to better lives for the country's people.

_"Go back to them?"_ Kaoru wondered, meaning the Ishin Shishi.

He was quiet for a minute. "I...I should. My work is not done yet." He hesitated, and she lowered her head to peer at him. He looked back at her and smiled. "Yes, I know, I'm running away. It's just..." He pulled in a deep breath, and sighed. "Everything I've done will mean nothing if I wait too long to return," he whispered. "But if...if I have to endure the smell of blood one more time...I don't think..."

She carefully nosed at his hair, trying to comfort him, and he smiled despite himself and pushed her away. "Now don't get dragon-snot in my hair, I'm too tired to hike all the way to the lake tonight." He yelped when she mischievously let a trickle of drool slop down onto his shoulder. "Ow- _ow_! That's hot, what are you trying to do to me?" Rubbing at his soiled clothes, he said ruefully, "You're not taking me seriously, are you."

_"Kenshin stay with me. Not have to smell blood."_

"And the people who need my help?" he said quietly.

She hesitated, and did not show him her thought, because it was bad enough that she was so selfish without him knowing about it, too. _'_I_ need your help...I need you, Kenshin.'_ Finally she signed, _"Kenshin only one can hold a sword?"_

"Well, there are other hitokiri," he acknowledged. "I just don't...trust them."

_"...Kenshin stay...a little. Then go."_

He nodded slowly. "I will stay with you as long as I can, Kaoru-dono." He suddenly laughed humorlessly. "I feel like I am home...but I would be betraying my sword to rest here too long."

_'As long as your home is with me,'_ she thought, _'I will let you go when I must. Just not yet...not yet.'_

_To be continued..._


	7. The Snow

_**Sapphire Scales**_**, a Rurouni Kenshin fanfic by Raberba girl**

**Chapter 7 - The Snow**

On a bright winter morning some time later, Kenshin woke slowly to the sound Kaoru's familiar growling. He smiled before opening his eyes, because he knew what she was mad about this time. "It's cold, and I don't have a blanket," he said lazily, looking into her accusing sapphire eyes without bothering to move. "You're warm."

_"You'd die if I rolled over in my sleep, idiot,"_ she pointed out.

"Mama dragons don't roll over on their little babies, do they?" he countered. Seeing the uncertainty in her eyes and the paling of her face-scales that meant she was blushing, he smiled again and snuggled his back closer against her scales, curling up against the cold. She made no move to push him away, and after a few minutes he fell asleep again.

Later, after breakfast, Kaoru curiously bent her head to inspect the thing he had finished shaping out of snow. She seemed tired and less energetic than usual these days, so Kenshin was glad she had come out with him today. He grinned up at her. "Look, I made a Kaoru-dono snowdragon."

She frowned as she gazed at it, and he yelped when her hot breath sent half of it trickling down as water. Then he had something else to think about, because she suddenly scooped up a chunk of snow and dropped it on him. Neck-deep in icy wetness, he stared at her in injured shock just long enough to watch her say smugly, _"Look, I made a Kenshin snowman."_

He shook free of the snow and glared playfully up at her, shuddering with cold as he hugged himself. "Ch-ch-eat-ter," he told her. It felt very good when she soon leaned over him again to breathe him warm and dry. He smiled up at her gratefully, and she smiled back.

He wanted to go to the "Little Lake," as they had unimaginatively started calling the one nearby. Kaoru seemed reluctant, but offered no protest as she got up to follow him. She outstripped him with practically the first step, and reached down to give him a lift the rest of the way. As soon as they got there, he jumped down without even waiting for her forelegs to reach the ground. It was cold, but he felt energetic and invigorated, almost like a child again.

He ventured out a few steps onto the ice before he heard Kaoru's distressed-sounding grunts behind him. "It's all right," he called over his shoulder, "the ice is thick. I want to see if I can catch a fish." He had never tried ice-fishing before, but he was in a good mood and it seemed like a fun thing to attempt.

Kaoru did not seem to agree, though she did not stop him. She lay morosely by the lake, her eyes fixed on him as he worked to poke a hole in the ice. Eventually he succeeded. Of course the hole ended up big enough to let a Kenshin through as well as a fish, and shortly afterwards Kenshin found himself wet and shivering in Kaoru's claws as she looked at him in concern. "Y-Yeah I kn-know," he chattered ruefully at her. "W-Was p-pret-ty d-dumb ag-gain." His happiness had not vanished, though, especially when he spread his arms to let her dry him.

He was still kind of cold. Frowning, Kenshin touched his clothes and found them still slightly damp, stiff with the frost that was threatening to form. "Could you try again?" he called up. He frowned again at her sluggish response. She was breathing a little too deeply and noisily, and her eyes looked unfocused. "Kaoru-dono? Are you all right?"

She did not answer, but merely dipped her head to breathe on him until he was completely dry. Then she lay down and closed her eyes.

"Kaoru-dono?" he said anxiously, putting his hands on the side of her face. "Kao-" His voice broke off when the thought finally hit him that dragons were very rarely seen in the winter. "Kaoru-dono!"

_"Go away,"_ she gestured sluggishly, her eyes still closed.

Kenshin's eyes narrowed, and he gritted his teeth. "No. Get up, Kaoru-dono."

She physically pushed him away, but seemed too tired to retract her foreleg when she had done so.

"Kaoru-dono, get UP!" He marched back and kicked her. Her eyelids fluttered a little, but she did not otherwise respond. So he found a more sensitive spot where her head joined her neck and the scales were softer, and he kicked her again. She grunted in annoyance and batted at him as if he was a pesky insect. "Get up. Get up, Kaoru-dono. Get up _now_." He kept kicking until she finally opened her eyes and raised her head, glaring in annoyance. "Get up and go back to the cave. I will make a fire."

_"Horrible little redhead."_

Very reluctantly, she dragged herself back to her feet and trudged to the cave at a pace even _he_ was able to keep up with. When she paused or slowed down too much, he whacked at her toes with his sheathed sword close to where the claws emerged from the flesh, so that she charged ahead a pace or two, grumbling nastily at him. It seemed like ages before he was finally able to urge her back home, where he made sure she got right into her "bedroom" and curled up in her nest.

He went up to her face and looked at her anxiously. She cracked her eyes open and gazed at him. "Haaaa," she finally murmured, too tired to make sign language.

"Yes...yes, you're all right?"

"Haaa," she agreed in a rumbling whisper. Then, licking her scaly lips, she brought her forelegs up and slowly made the sign for "sleep."

"All right," he agreed warily. "But this isn't like with humans, where they fall asleep and die of cold?"

_"Dragon,"_ she said tiredly. _"No human."_

He leaned forward, looking hard into her eyes. "Kaoru-dono, are you really a dragon?"

She growled, all her attention suddenly awake and fixed angrily on him.

He held her gaze steadily, his eyes narrowed. "You always get so angry when I touch your past."

He had to puzzle through _"Kenshin,"_ _"kill,"_ and _"don't talk."_ Probably something like, _"I never bug you about _your_ past, do I?"_

"At least I _told_ you my past," he said meaningfully.

_"Go away. Tired,"_ she said stubbornly, and shut her eyes again. Kenshin shook his head and gave up for the moment.

He had grown used to the dragon taking care of all his heating needs, so it seemed strange now to have to find a suitable flint and spark a fire himself. He started with her nest, igniting the straw so that eventually she was lying in a bed of flames. It seemed to revive her a little; she uncurled slightly and half-opened her eyes to offer him a faint smile.

Satisfied that she was more comfortable, he hurried outside again to gather as much dry wood as he could carry. After several trips he ended up with enough for a bonfire, which was already merrily blazing before he realized that he had virtually sealed himself inside the cave. The heat emanating from Kaoru's "bedroom" was far too strong to allow him to pass unless he was desperate, which he was not quite. For a minute he was worried that he had overdone it, that perhaps it was possible for a dragon to be confronted with too much fire. Yet his fears were abated when he saw Kaoru raise her head to grin at him over the flames before settling down again, looking more cozy than he had seen her since the weather had turned.

With a little sigh of relief, Kenshin now turned to the only direction he could go from here - farther into the cave. He had never ventured very far back there before, mostly because he had seen that it upset Kaoru when he tried. Now, however, he walked purposefully into the dark, holding a burning brand he had taken from the edge of the fire.

It had been long enough. He knew Kaoru very well now, and it was obvious that she trusted him almost as much as he did her. Only one thing she still held back from him, and that was an acceptance of his love. It was obvious that she valued his friendship, and that she was happy with him, but the pain that still lurked in her eyes whenever he even hinted at the creature he knew her to truly be...

"Do you think I can't see?" he whispered sadly as he walked on. Her imprisoned spirit, sunk so deeply in bondage that she flinched away even from the hands that tried to free her. He had been waiting as patiently as he could for her to let him in, but he saw now that she never would until she was convinced that he truly desired to enter.

He did not know how long he walked or how many turns he made, but always there was only the one path, every other soon petering into a dead end. When he reached the back of the cave, he had to stop and stare a while before he could believe it, the things it contained so incongruous with their setting. The cave went no farther. In ended in a crudely furnished "room."

He circled it slowly, running his hand along the threadbare quilts with their faded colors; fingering the drooping toy dog with its stuffing coming out; watching the jewelry glimmering hopefully in the torchlight; coming to a startled stop when he saw the full-length mirror, its surface cracked. There was no sign of a small red-haired swordsman in it. Rather, a little fox looked up from licking its wounds and gazed at him with eyes as deep as the sky, filled with suffering and joy and longing. Kenshin raised a shaking hand toward the reflective glass, and the fox weakly raised a forepaw in exact imitation of his gesture.

Shuddering, Kenshin looked away and found his eyes caught by a tapestry hanging nearby. Two depictions of the same young woman were woven into it - sleek black hair, carefully arranged when she wore a pretty kimono and held a fan to cover her face; tied up in a ponytail when she wore hakama and held a wooden sword in challenge. The eyes of both were the same. He knew those eyes, woven in blue thread that had refused to fade with the rest.

"Kaoru-dono," he whispered, reaching up to touch her face, its expression arrogant and cold and utterly unfamiliar. At last he caught a glimpse of what it must be like for others, when they saw the hitokiri's scowl burning from his own face. _'I am not Hitokiri Battousai,'_ he thought, and a shiver went down his spine. _'Just as you are not what the protective mask claims you to be. Kaoru-dono...'_

It was when he had picked up an elegant glass bottle half-full of blue liquid that he heard her coming. Kenshin smiled grimly, knowing what he needed to do, no matter how upset she would be or how she tried to stop him. He had not yet moved when he heard her round the last corner, when she saw him there in her roomful of secrets, when she opened her mouth in a roar of fear and outrage. Only then did he turn slowly to face her, idly playing with the potion in his hands, letting that cold smile rest on her.

"Interesting hoard you have here, Kaoru-dono."

_To be continued..._


	8. The Secret Room

_**Sapphire Scales**_**, a Rurouni Kenshin fanfic by Raberba girl**

**Chapter 8 - The Secret Room**

He...he was...

_"Get out!"_ she screamed at him. _"Get out get out get out, get out NOW!"_

He had never looked at her like that before. She had smelled it in him, the strength and determination that made his spirit stand as tall as hers, but she had never until now seen it reflected in his eyes, not even the night of the mob.

Silently, he reached to set the hated little bottle back in its place. His fingers lingered on it, and she shuddered. Then he looked back at her. "No," he said quietly. "I think I need to be here."

Without another thought she snatched him up in her claws as she had not done in months and trundled back to the cave entrance, where she dropped him on the ground more roughly than on that first night. _"Go away! Don't come back, ever!"_ She retreated back inside and lay full length in the passage, weeping. Even if he did come back (he probably would, the wretched little man...), he was not going to be able to get past her bulk blocking the way.

_'You betrayed me...you weren't supposed to see me...'_ Her past life, her true self. The shame of it threatened to consume her. She had grown to love him, to wake up every morning with joy that he was with her and loved her as if she was a _person_ instead of a beast. So why, why did he have to ruin it? Why did he have to keep coming too close? Why did he have to barge in and _look_, to see how ugly and desperate and loathsome she had become? Why couldn't he have just accepted her as a dragon?

She was startled by a grunt that was not her own, and she opened her eyes to find him almost right in front of her face, rising from a crouch as if he had just landed. He had climbed over her! And she had not even felt him, curse this thick dragon hide!

He turned to look at her, and she roared at him, as loudly as she had that first morning. He merely closed his eyes and covered his ears in a businesslike manner until she had finished, then he looked at her again with that cold, terrifying expression. "Shall we go together, or must I keep fighting my way in?"

Thinking vehement curses at him, she grabbed him again and this time stuck him up at the very top of the highest tree she could find.

He had flitted down again and was striding back toward the cave before she had even turned around.

Howling, she stomped her way back faster than he did. By the time he caught up, she had barricaded the entrance with boulders and uprooted trees and anything she could find to seal him out-

"Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryuu!"

Curse him.

As she watched him barreling his way through with apparent lack of effort, glaring up at her in challenge, turning away to march back into her life as if he thought he had a right to be there, she decided that she was going to follow through with what she had meant to do from the beginning.

He made no protest when she picked him up and carried him away, did not speak to her throughout the entire flight, did not even say anything when she left him near a village a fortnight's journey (in human terms) from the cave. She almost wished, as she flew away again, that he would call after her...that maybe she could have said good-bye. But it was _his_ fault. _He_ was the one who insisted it had to be this way. _He_ was the one who was breaking her heart, just as she had known he would from the beginning, just as she had tried so hard to prevent.

_'I hate you,'_ she thought angrily as she flew, tears leaking out of her eyes. _'Kenshin...I love you so much, how could you do this to me...?'_

Two weeks later (she assumed...she had not been keeping track), he was suddenly standing before her again, looking at her with a tight-lipped expression, two wolf carcasses dangling from his hand. She stared at him for a minute, wondering if he was real or just another dream, until he said coldly, "I had hoped you wouldn't need these." He dropped the dead animals in front of her nose. He said, his voice sad but unsympathetic, "You need to eat, Kaoru-dono." Then he turned and walked away - in the direction of the Secret Room.

She growled in a panic and tried to get to her feet, but she was too weak. It had been too long since she had eaten, and in her grief she had not been careful to conserve her energy. Resentfully, she choked down the wolves and then managed to force herself back up again a little later.

She found him sitting in the Secret Room, resting his arms on his knees as he looked at her portraits. She growled, but he did not respond right away. Finally he glanced over his shoulder and said quietly, "It's because your heart is in this room, isn't it. Why won't you let me in?"

_"Because you _hurt_!"_ she screamed.

He got to his feet and came up to her, tilting his head back to hold her eyes. "You know I don't mean to. But it will hurt to come out, Kaoru-dono. There's no other way. Do you want to stay trapped where you are forever?"

Tears were leaking out of her eyes again.

"Kaoru-dono," he said softly. "I want to see you in the mirror."

_"...No...NO!"_

He turned away again and went to look in the mirror himself, where she was shocked to see his reflection. For a long time they looked at the fox without speaking, and then Kenshin mumbled, "Pathetic, isn't it. Such a tiny creature, limping around bleeding on everything it touches. I've always wondered why you let me hang around for so long, Kaoru-dono."

_"Stupid,"_ she snarled. _"You're bleeding because you've battled. You're hurt because you've torn apart the enemies who threatened what you loved, what you fight to protect. You can't see the expression in your own eyes... Who couldn't love you for that, you stupid little man? Why can't you see that it's_ me_ who's the pathetic one?"_

He was gazing up at her uncomprehendingly. Her fumbling, unfamiliar signs probably looked like a hopeless jumble to him. She groaned, her heart aching, and turned to go. If he wanted to be here, fine. She would let him play in the Secret Room to his heart's content.

She should not have eaten the wolves. Now it would take longer to die.

"Kaoru-dono!" he shouted after her.

_'Shut up,'_ she thought.

"Don't leave! _Don't!_ I've never left you, have I? Don't leave me now!" It was the way he said it that stopped her, so that she looked back at him and saw the angry tears in his eyes. "Kaoru-dono..."

_"You hurt,"_ she told him. _"I don't want to be here."_

"You think you're not hurting me also?" he said.

She shifted uneasily. He was trying to guilt her into doing what he wanted...

"Come _here_!" he thundered when she tried to turn away again.

She growled, but then slowly lowered her head until they were more or less on the same level. He put his hands on her face, looking earnestly into her eyes. "Kaoru-dono. Have I ever run from you? Why do you run from me now? Please. _Please._ Tell me what I have to do. I want to help you."

_'You...already have,'_ she thought, feeling like she was going to drown in her own tears. _'You don't have to do anymore, Kenshin.'_

He rested his face against her scales and whispered, "I love you. I can't stand to see you like this, Kaoru-dono. I want to free you."

It hurt. The pain in her heart suddenly seemed to be exploding throughout her body; she lifted her head as high as she could and screamed, unable to escape. She knew Kenshin was staring at her in alarm, but she couldn't do anything about that right now; her wings were burning, her bones feeling as if they were being crushed. She seemed to be falling fast and hard. Her senses choked; disorientation seized her mind, and to escape the torment she took refuge in darkness.

o.o.o.o.o

It was cold, but she was warm. She opened her eyes slowly, seeing the glimmer of starlight above and the flickering fires that surrounded them in a half-circle. She was being held by some enormous being. Fear struck her, for she had never seen any creature bigger than her before, but she could not move at first. Trying to flex her muscles brought a threatening ache into her back and limbs. Besides, this position was very...comfortable, wrapped up and lying with her head pillowed on something softer than straw.

A voice whispered down to her, familiar, startling in its volume. "Kaoru-dono?"

She flinched, and she felt a gentle stroking over her head. "What," she started to say. The horrible, strangled croaking sound of her own voice shocked her; even as a dragon she had never sounded like that. Her mouth suddenly ached in muscles she had not known she had. She tried to sit up, and fell back with a moan of pain. What had happened? Who was this who held her?

She blinked up into a worried face, not recognizing it for a second. If not for the scars, and the red hair, it would have taken her much longer. Slowly, she raised her hands to sign, _"Ken...shin...?"_ He looked strange, his face too large and contorted, his features fuzzy and hard to see. Was something wrong with her eyes?

"Are you all right, Kaoru-dono?" he asked.

She thought she was going to die of shock. _"Kenshin- Kenshin is HUGE!"_

His eyes widened as he stared at her. Then his lips quirked and he burst into laughter, for so long that she was able to sit up and stare at him, clutching the quilts around herself. Finally he recovered and gazed at her with eyes still dancing in amusement. "Thank you, Kaoru-dono. I think that's the most gratifying thing anyone has ever said to me."

_"But you _are_!"_ she insisted. Then, because she could not think how to sign it clearly enough, "How did you...?" She was talking. The words were coming out of her as she thought them; rusty, hard to understand, hurting her mouth, but she could _hear_ them. Slowly, she let go of the quilt and raised up her forelegs...her arms, her hands. She stared at them open-mouthed for a long time, so that after a while his gaze sobered and he looked at her in concern. Then she put her wonderful, soft hands against her face and burst into tears.

"Kaoru-dono?" He reached out and gently laid a hand on her shoulder, another on her arm, as if he would tug her hands away to see her face; but at his touch she shuddered violently. She had never felt anything like it, not for so long, so long ago that she had forgotten. The feel of skin on skin, the nerves in her flesh blazing to life with the contact of another human being. A _human being_.

"I...I'm...not...a dragon," she whispered shakily, and found herself signing even as she spoke.

He smiled. "No."

She stared at him, pressing her hands close to her body as if they were injured. "I...I..." She did not know what to say, did not know how to get her thoughts to make sense, either with her mouth or with her hands.

Then, to her shock, he reached out and very gently touched her lips. "I wanted so much to hear you speak," he said softly. "I'm so glad, Kaoru-dono." He smiled. "You look a lot nicer than you do in your portraits."

She blushed, and was startled at the intensity of the heat that burned her face. "Yeah?" she snapped in pleased embarrassment. "Well you look...!"

He cocked his head curiously when she did not continue, and then she turned away from him, her breath coming hard. _He looked like a man._ She had been seeing him-

Kaoru pressed her hands over her face in mortification. She had been seeing him almost like a pet, like some cute little friend, or like some good-looking human specimen that she had idly admired, never expecting him to one day be - accessible. Even more, _equal_...if that. She had no advantage over him now, he was so...strong. If he could push her around when she had been a dragon...in this small, weak form of hers, he could so easily crush her.

"What is it?" he wanted to know, looking worried. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I'm...sorry...Kenshin," she whispered. "I...threw you around all the time, and...hurt you, and was horrible to you."

He smiled, slowly and a little sheepishly. "If apologies are in order, I have some of my own, you know. For harassing you. For hurting you. For-" He broke off in surprise when her hand suddenly shot out to grip his clothes.

"No," she hissed, a little desperately. "You wouldn't let go of me. I...don't know what I would have done, if you'd really left me. I think I would have died." She was crying again, and to her relief he reached out to put his arms around her.

"Kaoru-dono," he murmured soothingly, rocking her. She shivered at his touch again, and it was worse when he frowned and rubbed her arms. "I'm sorry," he said helplessly. "I wish there was a way to get you warm, but I've already brought out all the blankets I could find."

"It's not that," she whispered. She could not look at him, even when she knew he was peering down at her inquiringly. "It's..." She swallowed. "Kenshin," she said awkwardly. "Dragon hide is very...tough. I couldn't really feel anything, through touch. Um...now I can."

There was a long pause. "Oh," he finally said. She wished so badly to know what he was feeling, but it was like half her senses were gone. She leaned her face against him and tried to breathe him in, but the only scent she could find was that of his body, there was nothing to reveal his thoughts. His mind had been closed to her.

He reached for the drooping quilt and tugged it back to cover the frayed kimono he must have found in the Secret Room to dress her in. They sat silently for a while like that, she leaning against him with the weight of his arms resting over the protective layers of cloth.

"I still can't believe how big you are," she finally mumbled.

"Give it a couple of days," he told her dryly. "Once your perceptions adjust, I'm sure you'll be disappointed."

"No," she said. "You were always big. Even...before. In a way. You were always _there_." She pulled away from him so that she could look at him unhappily. "Kenshin, I can't smell you anymore."

When he looked a little puzzled, she repeated it in signs, and then he smiled. "Well, I will tell you. I smell very happy, because my Kaoru-dono is finally free."

Her face was burning again. "Kenshin...you knew, didn't you? That I wasn't really a dragon?" He nodded solemnly, and she blinked in embarrassment. "How long? When did you figure it out?"

She was surprised to see his blush. "Er...well...I figured a real dragon wouldn't care about seeing me without, um, clothes."

"Wh-What?" she gasped. "But that was... You mean you knew from the beginning?"

He shrugged. "Pretty much, yes."

She dropped her face into her hands. "I thought...I thought I had kept it a secret."

He smiled. "There was a woman imprisoned beneath the dragon scales, you could see it in every gesture, every glance. No one could have looked at you and thought you were an ordinary dragon."

"That's not true," she said harshly. "It isn't true, Kenshin. You were the only one...the only one. Who looked at me, and..." She licked her lips, trying to speak through her choked throat and keep the tears back at the same time. "...and _saw_ me," she whispered.

He looked a little dismayed. "Kaoru-dono...how long did you have to suffer like that? Who did this to you?"

She turned away from him and hugged her knees, clutching the quilt closer around herself. "It was a long time ago," she grumbled. "She's long dead."

"Kaoru-dono."

She eyed him warily, saw his narrowed eyes. "Look, you can't do anything about it, okay?" she snapped, trying to meet that look squarely. "She's dead. I didn't know she was a sorceress until it was too late, and she's been dead at least a hundred years anyway, so it doesn't matter."

His voice was stunned. "A hundred...?"

"It was my fault!" she cried angrily. "Okay? I was spoiled rotten, I know that now. The Princess of the Sword, my father's darling, so proficient even with a bokutô that I actually beat men who came at me with steel. You know? Why _shouldn't_ I have thought everyone loved me? And even- even if I really was the center of the universe, I should never have treated anyone like that, so I _know_ it's my fault!"

She turned away from his amazed expression, lost deep in her own hurt and anger. "Snide little brat... She was a sore loser and I was a braggart winner, so she attacked me with magic and I broke her wand and called her ugly, and she came up the next day pretending to be so sweet, offering me a drink as an apology. Best thing I ever tasted," she spat. "_Last_ thing I ever tasted, besides water and raw meat. She said...that I'd be uglier than her...unless a man could actually love me as a dragon, could love me even if I never told him the truth." She shivered. "Forever. It was meant to be forever.

"Kenshin," she whispered. "Was it really worth it? Did I really deserve all this...just for that?" He did not answer. With an angry sob in her throat, she turned to yell at him for failing to reassure her - and found him sitting with his face in his hands, breathing hard. "Ke...Kenshin?" she said in surprise.

"No," he finally whispered, his voice ragged with pain and rage. "No. You could never have done anything to deserve such a thing, Kaoru-dono." He finally raised his head to look at her. "_You_...could never have done anything to deserve such a thing. You were wronged, and I wish there was something I could do."

She stared at him. She could not smell him anymore, but the pain in his eyes was as clear as scent. Why would _he_ be in pain? "Kenshin," she gasped.

Forgetting her anger, she threw her arms around him, and he returned her embrace. "It's all right, Kaoru-dono," he whispered. He was trying to comfort _her_!

"Kenshin," she insisted. "Kenshin, you don't deserve it, either." He sobbed once, then clung to her with his face hidden, obviously fighting to keep control. "Kenshin," she murmured, stroking his hair. "You're a good person. You saved me. You don't deserve any punishment-" He was shuddering. "Listen! You're fighting to protect people, to help them. There's no shame in that! You don't make the decisions on who dies-"

"It's with these hands," he gasped. She felt him try to pull away, so she held him tighter.

"Kenshin," she murmured. "Don't run from me now."

There was a burst of helpless laughter, and finally he looked at her again, his eyes still haunted despite his smile. "I...won't. I suppose...if you'll have me, despite it all..."

"Always," she said fiercely. Then she grinned. "Besides, you belong to me, you know. My not-maiden sacrifice. Just because I haven't eaten you yet..."

He smiled, but there was something in the smile that made her fearful. "Kenshin?"

"Kaoru-dono," he said softly. "I finally know what I'm fighting for. I didn't...before I met you. I told myself I did, but there was no way I could have, until now. Do you understand?"

She stared at him. "No," she lied.

He stroked her face, the other hand clasped with one of hers. "I will come back. I promise."

"Why can't you take me with you?" she said quickly. "I can handle a sword, I can help you-"

"No," he said harshly. "You are no hitokiri, Kaoru-dono - and you never will be, while I live."

"Then let me come, just to be with you," she insisted. "Kenshin..."

He closed his eyes. "You don't know what it's like. The bloodshed takes place in the very streets...you would not be safe there. I can't let you..." He paused when he saw her glaring at him, then said quietly, "I have never been close to anyone other than my master. There was never anyone whose safety could be used against me. Now there is."

She bit her lip. In a way it was good, to know that she had become so important to him...but of course it also meant that he would not want her close to him while he fought.

"Kenshin..."

o.o.o.o.o

They left when the roads became passable again, taking their time as they made their way to the village where he intended to leave her. He found a good place for her to stay, where the landlady's eyes lit up in recognition before sliding over to Kaoru. She was suddenly self-conscious in her faded, frayed kimono from the Secret Room, the only clothing she had. "Who's this, Himura-san? Another drunk?"

"No!" Kenshin yelped. "Er, this is Kaoru-dono."

"Good to meet you," the woman said briskly. "Don't worry, Himura-san, I'll take care of her."

They were both uneasy, waiting to be alone, finding themselves silent when they finally were alone. Kaoru stood there and watched as he awkwardly got her things settled in, fiddled around at the window, avoiding her eyes the entire time until she finally broke the thick silence. "Well, are you going to get around to saying good-bye, or what?"

He finally raised his unhappy eyes to hers. "Kaoru-dono...you'll do well here. I will come back as soon as I can, I promise."

_"Mad at you,"_ she signed, then turned her back on him. She could do it a lot quicker now that she was smaller.

She heard him sigh. He came over and slowly put his arms around her. "Kaoru-dono...I'm sorry."

"You weren't worried about me getting hurt when I was a dragon," she whispered, tears prickling her eyes.

"Perhaps from physical danger, no," he admitted. Then he added gently, "Though even as a dragon, your body was not the only thing you had that could be wounded. But now..."

"I can help you," she growled again. "You know I can."

"You could," he acknowledged. "I don't want you to _have_ to."

She closed her eyes, then turned around in his arms until she was facing him. "How long?" she whispered.

"I will come see you," he promised. "When I can, I will come see you, and one day I will come home to you for good."

She could have fought longer, but she swallowed the arguments and the resentment down, and only nodded. They smiled shakily at each other. Then he leaned forward and brushed the lightest of kisses against her cheek.

Kaoru went down to see him off, hugging her arms around herself as she watched him walk away. She stayed motionless there until he was out of sight. She waited a little longer. Then, when she was sure he was well and truly gone, she whirled and tore back into the inn, dashing up the stairs to her room where she feverishly shoved everything back into a bag. As she clattered back down again, the landlady gave her a startled, suspicious look and called, "Where are you going?"

"I'll be back soon," Kaoru answered over her shoulder. "And if I'm not, I'll be with him. Thank you so much!" She did not stop to listen for an answer, but simply ran down the street and wished that the distance she covered with each step wasn't so infuriatingly tiny.

Yet eventually she emerged from the town and kept up her flight, until she had enough room for what she wanted and was far out of sight of anyone who could see. Throwing down her pack and stripping off her clothes, she ran a little farther and then finally came to a stop, panting more from apprehension than because she was tired, ignoring her shivering as the chilly air struck her flesh. She paused to calm down and gather her thoughts. Then, closing her eyes and hoping fervently, she stretched her arms up, reaching desperately for the sky.

It hurt, but not as much as it had before, she was glad to find. She opened her eyes and looked down at herself, nearly crying with joy when she saw sapphire scales flashing in the sun; when the warm, leafy smell of the forest hit her nose; when the birdsong in her ears took on joyful meaning. Eagerly, she unfurled her wings and climbed up into the sky she had missed so badly, savoring the wind that rushed past her body and carried her above the world.

When the heady delight had cleared a little from her mind, a horrible thought occurred to her. Frantically, she wheeled back to where she had taken flight from and came in for a rougher landing than usual, clumsy in her haste. _'Oh please, oh please, oh please...'_ Pain shot through her as she reached desperately for the ground, but not as much as she had been expecting. Perhaps one day, as her body grew accustomed to the transformations, it would become second nature, like walking.

Kaoru sat and looked happily at her hands, thinking that they were the most wonderful things in the world. (Well, next to Kenshin.) Then she grinned and jumped up to get dressed again, feeling as dizzily happy as a child. She could dance or sing or clap her hands and not care how silly she looked; the world was wonderful and everything was wonderful.

When she had calmed down a little, she transformed again and flew back to her old cave, where the first thing she did was to hurry to the Secret Room and make sure the potion was still safe. There had been a time when she would have gladly burned it, if it could burn, but now it was more precious to her than a cave full of gold. She carefully wrapped it up and laid it in a safe place.

Then she wandered back out, thinking lazily of visiting the Big Lake after she had cleaned up the cave a bit. It didn't really matter. Kenshin traveled much slower than she could, it would take him a while to make his journey. There was plenty of time left before she had to leave, so he would find her waiting for him when he arrived.

o.o.o

_For a hundred years, the fires of Dragon Mountain have been seen to glow against the night sky, and none set foot there, for it is a perilous place. Though the Ruby Beast and the Sapphire Beast have not been seen in my lifetime, some say that they are still there, watching the world turn through its seasons and venturing forth only when we cannot see. Others say they are dead, though their legend lives on; but I do not believe it, child. For sometimes, when the nights are clear and the moon is bright, you can still hear them singing._

o.o.o

Author's Note: The "other drunk" is not Tomoe here (I don't know who s/he is), but the line _is_ a nod to that scene in the manga.


End file.
